A: This week, we continued received New Year greetings from our listeners around the world. Michael Brandlt of the US wrote: “Hello, my warm greetings to you all at the Voice of Vietnam. Here is the US, we have just celebrated the beginning of a New Year. I can only that it will be a peaceful year for all of us. I understanding that the Vietnamese New Year doesn’t start until February, but I would like to go ahead and wish you all at VOV, and the people in your country a safety and happy New Year. I hope the best for Vietnam in the upcoming year”.

B: Thank you, Michael Brandt for your greetings. In Vietnam, we celebrate both western New Year 2016 and the lunar New Year, which falls on February 8^th this year.

A: Sending a reception report on our broadcast on January 1^st on the frequency of 6175 khz with SINPO at all 5s, Michael wrote: “I enjoy listening to news from Vietnam. It’s very interesting to hear and gives me a better understanding of what’s going on in Vietnam. Not only the news, but I like to learn about the culture. I enjoy the music, the art, and tradition that you have in Vietnam. It’s fascinating. I hope one day I can visit and see it for myself”.

B: Oh yes, Michael, you really should visit Vietnam one day. We hope to see you soon in Vietnam, Keep tuning in to our broadcasts to learn more about Vietnam, its land and people before you come.

A: Next is an email dated January 4 from Rafiql Islam of Bangladesh. He wrote: “Happy New Year to all of you at English Service, VOV. We hope that this year, your program will further develop and be more attractive and entertaining. More listeners will choose your daily program. Our club members, friends, neighbors and family members are very interested in your radio programs. We also visit your webpage regularly. It’s a very nice webpage”.

B: Thank you, Rafiql Islam for your comments on our programs. We are happy to know that VOV broadcasts have become more popular around the world. Our radio program is now available on the website at www.vovworld.vn. Check it out when you need to learn more about Vietnam.

A: In an email to VOV this week, Ashik Eqbal of Bangladesh wrote: “I’m so happy to inform you that I’m able to tune into your program on my smart phone. Cheers and thanks for the Spring and the New Year. I bound to dance with this excellent song. It would be better if understand the lyrics but you know music has no language barrier”

B: Ashik, I guess that you were listening to a Vietnamese song in our Letter Box segment last week. Yes, music has no barrier and it makes us closer. We will play more spring songs in our programs as Vietnamese people are preparing for the traditional lunar New Year festival in three weeks. So, please, keep tuning. By the way, we’d like to inform you that we have updated your mailing address in our mailing list.

A: Writing to VOV on January 2, David Cummings wrote: “I am interested in your stone pictures showing landscapes and perhaps a village scene. How can I choose a genuine (real stones) stone picture and get it shipped safely to my home in Macau”.

B: David must be talking about a stone picture of Luc Yen district, Yen Bai province. David, why don’t you visit the district, see it with your own eyes and choose a stone picture for yourself. Luc Yen district, 80 km from Yen Bai province is famous for making gem stone pictures. Using rough stones, skilled artisans make beautiful pictures popular within both domestic and foreign customers. There are hundreds of workshops making stone pictures in Luc Yen providing jobs for thousands of people.

A: Luc Yen district was blessed by nature with a large deposit of gemstones. There are all kinds of stones - precious stones like rubies, sapphires and emeralds and semi-precious stones like quartz and amethyst. Shops selling stone pictures attract a large crowd of customers.

B: For several years, local people in Luc Yen have earned their livelihood from making stone pictures. The craft first appeared in the district in the 1990s. The artisans first grind the stones to make them shiny and then use glue to fix them on a picture. All the steps involved in making a picture – stone selection, drawing, and fixing need to be precise to make a stone picture as beautiful as other types of pictures.

A: Local artisans say the quality of the stones is essential to the beauty of the picture. So they must choose stones of superior quality. Of course the skill and creativity of the artisans are also very important.

B: Luc Yen stone pictures are now popular both at home and abroad. The most popular pictures depict landscapes and animals. The pictures vary in size and prices. Natural stone pictures from Luc Yen are highly prized by Vietnamese and foreign customers and exports are on the rise.

A: That’s a brief on stone pictures in Yen Bai province. In an email to VOV this week, Patrick Travers of the UK wrote: “I was listening to your broadcast on January 2 2016 at 19:16 hours GMT at 7280 and that I noted SINPO code rating of 34333. I was using a JRC NRD 525 receiver and Welbrook ala1530 loop antenna mounted on a four meter pole. Thank you very much for continuing to broadcast on the shortwave bands. I look forward to learning more about your country during 2016. A Happy New Year to everyone at the Voice of Vietnam”

A: Thank you for tuning into our broadcasts. We wish you all the best for the New Year and hope to hear more from you.  We’d like to thank Rabisanka Bosu of the New Horizon Radio Listeners’ Club of India for your beautiful New Year greeting card.

B: Sending some stickers of a shortwave radio station in Pennsylvania and a reception report on VOV broadcast on December 13 from 2:30 to 2:57 UTC on a frequency of 6175, John Cooper of the US wrote: “I really enjoy listening to Voice of Vietnam. It has been quite a few months since I have listened to the station. I’m glad I was able to tune you in tonight. The selection of songs was very nice and I liked hearing that soldiers liked the music. Being an ex-service member myself, I know how songs were important to use especially ones that reminded us of home or sweethearts”.

A: Thank you John Cooper for your report. It’s very useful for us and our engineers. We have also received your 2 USD for the postage. We’ll send you a QSL to confirm your report.

B: Today, we’d like to acknowledge letters and emails from Fumito Hokamura of Japan, Richard Nowak of the US, Ratan Kumar Paul, Bidhan Chandra Sanyal, and Hemant Kumar of India, Abdur Razzak of Bangladesh, Andrew Siranni of Canada, Joshua Travino of the US, and Kamal Hossain of Bangladesh. We have sent you QSL cards to confirm your reports and New Year Greetings from VOV.

B: We welcome your feedback at: English section, Overseas Service, Radio Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Or you can email us at: englishsection@vov.org.vn. You’re invited to visit us online at www.vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs. Good bye until next time.